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02-25-2013, 03:30 PM

Hi all. I am new to this concept of primal living. My daughter and her husband are following these principals and my husband and I are intrigued! We have ordered the 21 day "kit" and plan to start next weekend! I would love any pointers for getting started that first week! I plan to shop this week and get the food we need, and then get the "bad" stuff out of the house. My biggest concern is that physically I am in pretty bad shape. Lots of arthritis, knee replaced, generalized pain and little strength. I have started Yoga and managed to pull my hip flexor. All that to say that the exercise will be the challenge, at least until I start to loose weight and feel better! Once again, any pointers or ideas are greatly appreciated! I am getting the physical Journal with our kit! Do you still think it is helpful to "journal" online even with that?
Thanks

Welcome! You might find that your arthritis will disappear and your energy levels will skyrocket on Primal Blueprint. Getting grains out of my diet completely resolved my arthritis and I had gotten so bad last year my doctor was going to test me for RA. I was in so much pain at times I just felt like crying. Now, no pain. Lots of energy.

On the main page of Mark's Daily Apple there is a "start here" an "about" and "Success stories" - I started by reading all that. The forum is where I come for daily inspiration.

Comment

Hi there, and welcome to the Primal community!! I don't know if I have any definitive advice, however I do have recommendations based on my experience.
1. DON'T BE AFRAID OF FAT. yes, in caps because I would yell it if I could =) Fat is going to become your fuel, so eat the healthy ones and don't be shy about it. Make your bacon and cook your eggs in the drippings. mix a little red hot into what's left to make a sauce for your eggs. Find a good Amish butter and put it on everything. Eat avocado liberally. Have dark meat chicken with the skin still on. Make pork steaks instead of pork chops. Do what you can to make sure you're comsuming enough of it.
2. During the transitional phase, you'll likely feel ill. This is because your body's process is expecting carbs for fuel and you will not be consuming enough to be used that way. The first (roughly) 2 weeks are your body [re]learning to use fat for fuel. You will likely feel tired, run down, and possibly flu-like. This is very normal. Do yourself a favor and don't give in to the cravings. Your body will try to send signals to get the fuel it's used to... this translates to "I REALLY WANT [insert sweets/junk food here] RIGHT NOW!!!! When this happens, it is important to recognize that you don't really want the sweets, you want energy. When you crave sugar, feed fat. Have an avocado, make some bacon, eat a salad with O/V for dressing. Just don't reach for sugar. It would be best to premake something that has some fats in it so you can be ready when the cravings come. Doing this will train your body that when you have the "I need energy" impule, you are going to give it fats and that's what it needs to use.

*** THIS WILL PASS *** you will wake up one day and "magically" feel totally different. Your whole body will just feel calm. You'll have tons of energy. You'll feel rested. I wish I could use words to describe how amazing it is.... just trust me, you'll know when it happens. and it will literally just happen one morning.

3. Journaling is important until you get used to the concepts and way of life. In my experience, most people think they are doing 100% out of the gates but are really at 50 or 60. This isn't a bad thing persay, it's more of a learning curve. Going against everything you've ever learned about nutrition ever is a difficult thing to do. I would say post your journals and ask for feedback. the people here are fantastic and helpful.
4. I had trouble with the concept of there being no real guidance. I haven't experienced the 21 day plan, so it may be different than what I did, but the main key is that as long as you are eating the right foods and getting approximately the right percentages of fat/protein/carbs, your body will generally not let you overeat. Eat slowly, stop eating when you're full, don't be afraid to eat all day or have a light breakfast in the morning and realize as you lay down for bed that you didn't eat anything else. It really is this simple.
5. Exercise is entirely based on the effort you can give. My level of "medium activity" will differ from yours. don't think you have to do all kinds of crazy stuff. just get moving. do whatever gets your heart pumping more than it is. As time goes on and the effects of primal life start to manifest, it'll get a lot easier and you'll be able to do a lot more.

I don't have a lot of time right now to keep going, but hopefully this helps. Don't ever be afraid to ask a question. You might get someone saying "look through the archives" or something, but generally if you don't know the people here are great about helping. I haven't been on the forums in a while but I'm working my way back and I love answering questions for people that are just starting out, even if they have been answered a hundred times before.

Congratulations for deciding to join us in thr journey, I'm sure it will be a great one!!